The story about Iredell holding the line is a difficult one to judge. Fund balances are really one time money and if Iredell used that money to pay for recurring expenses, it may have done more harm than good. And as their budget grows, if they don’t add money back into that fund balance, with growth, that will drop precipitously close to 8% next year.
It is fortuitous that Iredell has a “performance management” system in place that allows employees up to 4%. 2.5% will be tough on many of those folks and will result in around $500 a year raises (before taxes). Truth is, Iredell has shown that it is growing government expenses faster than their tax base is growing. So with 2.5% pay increases and spending down their fund balance, they’re leaving a tough time for next year’s board.
Oh, and Iredell also purchased the Twin Oaks Golf Course with $4 million of taxpayer money. That is the “revenue stream” that commissioners are hoping to shore up their budget with.
But the most obvious reason Iredell did all of this, it’s an election year!!!
Person County seeks cuts to avoid tax hikes this year.
And Union County has a lower tax rate with higher taxes (revaluation year).
